The under-the-radar measures tucked in NC's sweeping abortion bill
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Packed into a 46-page abortion bill North Carolina Republicans' passed last week are dozens of proposed changes to state law that could alter the lives of women, families and children.
- In addition to banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, the legislation will dole out millions to bolster contraception access and increase funding for child care, foster care and paid parental leave.
Driving the news: Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper will veto the legislation at a rally tomorrow, setting the Republican-led state legislature — and its newfound supermajority — to override his veto next week.
- Cooper has argued the proposal would virtually end abortion in the state and publicly urged a handful of moderate Republican lawmakers to sustain his veto.
Why it matters: Though the ways the legislation will restrict abortion access have drawn the most attention and outrage in North Carolina and beyond, the bill is chock full of provisions that — if not paired with controversial reproductive health care restrictions — may have otherwise received bipartisan support.
Beyond limits to when and how women can have abortions in North Carolina, here are some of the proposed changes tucked into the bill:
Certified nurse midwives, who serve as primary care providers and manage low-risk pregnancies and births, would be granted the ability to practice independently without physician oversight, as numerous other states allow.
Repeat, violent sex offenders could be subject to lifetime GPS monitoring.
Domestic abusers would face misdemeanor charges — a harsher penalty than what's currently on the books and one that could close a loophole in North Carolina law allowing people who abuse their partners or family members to buy guns, WRAL reports.
Foster care families would receive increased payments per child — a change that will cost the state some $47 million over the next two years. Another $75 million, also over two years, will go toward more funding for subsidies for highly rated child care centers and homes.
State employees and teachers who give birth would be guaranteed eight weeks of paid parental leave, and partners or adoptive parents would receive four weeks.
The intrigue: The Republican-sponsored legislation also includes millions of dollars to expand access to contraceptives for low-income or uninsured patients.
- And it will incentivize prenatal care for low-income women.
Between the lines: Republicans' inclusion of bipartisan measures are designed to put Democrats in a rock and a hard place in deciding whether to support or oppose the legislation.
Yes, but: Most, if not all, legislative Democrats will back Cooper's veto in opposition of what they say are barriers to abortion access, like requiring an in-person visit with a medical professional before undergoing the procedure and changes to licensing requirements for abortion facilities.
- They've also pointed to statistics showing states that ban or restrict abortion have higher teen pregnancy, Black maternal mortality and overall maternal death rates, NC Newsline reported.